Burley Lawrence recalls the ‘Bedbug’ days
Published 3:01 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
He had been at Weyerhaeuser for 32 years, but
his years as a logger total 45. And in all that time he
never missed a day’s work because of a lost-time accident
_ probably a record for what was once a most
hazardous occupation, and still offers wide opportunities to
the unwary for accidents.
At the point of retirement, Lawrence set down
his working autobiography in brief form. It follows, in
his own words:
“I started to work in a brickyard cleaning brick,
contract work, in 1920. When the job ran out, I went to
work for the Milwaukee Railroad as a section hand. They
had to cut the crew down so I was laid off. Then on May
15, 1922, I started as a Third Rigger on a slack line, for
the Green River Lumber Company.
“Charley, a Japanese, was the Head Rigger there
and a swell guy. After three weeks of work, I climbed
my first tree. Going up was easy, but coming down was
a little harder. Charley taught me how to top trees,
hang rigging, and gave me points on safety. I stayed
with Charley for six months, then went to town and started
to hire out to other camps, mostly on the back end of
a skidder or slack line.
“I had made up my mind I was going to be a
High Rigger, so I told Archie McDougle (hiring agent for
loggers in Seattle) I wanted a job as a Second Rigger.
From then on I was a Rigger. I got to be a tram logger.
Two months was a long time for me. I worked in the
camps from Bellingham to the Redwoods on the Smith
River in Northern California, put in a few years in
Oregon, and put in quite a spell around Coos Bay.
“My first trip to Snoqualmie Falls as a Rigger was
in 1925. I made my short stay and moved on. I never
did own more than what I could get in a packsack.
“Of all the camps I made, this one I’ll have to
tell about: Camp McIntosh on the Tacoma Eastern. In
the morning, when about half through with breakfast,
the locomotive with a string of skeleton cars the men
rode would be blowing its whistle and everyone would
rush out.
“At night there was no ride back, everybody for
himself. Some would be coming out of the dining
room, while others were just getting in from the woods.
“At night you could feel the old bunk houses
moving from the bedbugs. Sunday was bedbug day. I put
in two weeks there I’ll never forget.
“I finally got married in 1928, and lived in
Palmer, where I worked for a small logging operation, so I
could be close to home. I got tired of the small outfits, so
I went and saw Archie.
“He said, `I have just the job for you, they need
a Rigger at Snoqualmie Falls.’ I started to work Oct.
1, 1935, and I’ve been here ever since.
“To guess how many trees I’ve topped would be
a rough guess _ about 3,000. Rigged _ about 2,000.
Never had any trouble topping a tree _ if it was
dangerous, shot the top out.
“I was dropped in the pass line many times, by
guys giving the wrong signal. Dropped of 30 to 60 feet
before they would catch me.
“Only once, in a 220-foot tree they dropped me
from the haul-back block to the ground. Only thing that
saved me was the drum rolled hard, and I hit on a pile of
cedar bark and brush. I was shook up but not hurt.
“I am mostly proud of my safety record, the kind
of work that I have followed all these years; 47
working years without a lost-time accident.
“In the early days before such emphasis was
placed on safety, life insurance costs for a logger were
astronomical, and a high rigger was the least insurable of
the lot.
“To try to remember all the camps would be
impossible. In my travels, if possible, I used the side
door Pullman, and there was lots of company.
“My wife Ann and I are figuring on staying here
on the Maloney Grove Road, where we have a brick
home on an acre lot, and there is plenty to do: fruit and
nut trees, all kinds of berries, flowers and a large garden
for all my families.
“My main hobbies are hunting and fishing and
gardening. Caught my first steelhead in 1919 and I’ve
been after them ever since. I love nothing better than to
get way back on the high ridges and hunt for deer; there
is always venison in my freezer in the fall.
“I got two goat permits, and got a goat each
time. Elk just now and then. Last year a five-point bull, I
hope I never get one like that again, too tough. I used to
trap, so I’m going to trap with my son Fred, mostly for
beaver.
“My future plans are to enjoy my hobbies. We
have the best sports area in the world right here, if a
person wants to get out and enjoy it.”
Lawrence has been an active member of the Mount Si Fish and Game Club for the past 20 years. He
served as president for two terms.
He was also president of the Moose Lodge for
two terms, and presently is an officer of the lodge.
Lawrence and his wife, Ann, have two daughters, Roberta Magness of Seattle, and Gloria Graham of
North Bend, and a son Fred, of Snoqualmie.
